Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Question Post for LEVERAGE #206 "The Top Hat Job"

Elbow deep in the blue revisions, people, and then heading out to scout locations for the finale. I'll tackle last week's questions and this week's over the weekend, before we start shooting Sunday.

And yes, although #207 has a big emotional finale, 208/209 work fine for a season tag, and set the status change for the team going into the winter season. Most Summer/Winter season split shows go 8/7, so shifting from 7/8 to 9/6 isn't THAT big a deal. And considering it's a big vote of confidence from the network, I ain't complaining. Also, 208 and 209 are among my favorite episodes (209 is the super-Rockford-y one), so I'm pleased.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em in Comments. This week is another light-hearted change-up, before the Armageddon that is 207.

361 comments:

Wow, awesome that the network is doing this... big vote of confidence! Hope this means that season 3 announcements will be coming soon??? Too bad TNT does not just have you guys just add a couple of epps to the season.

Long-time blog lurker, new twitter follower, and now, big Leverage fan! I watched the whole first season in one night last week, and I'm addicted to Parker, Hardeson, and Eliot. Great, hot cast. I'm thrilled that we're getting more episodes. Also a Portland resident with my eyes peeled for shooting. I hope TNT and Portland sign you up for 10 years!!

Judging from the main premise of your show as being a Robin Hood-esque faction that provides a moral check on the greed of corporations, I'm currently reading Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine right now, and I'm curious if any of the writers has also read it and if so, how much influence it has had in generating plots for our crew to solve.

1. Good to hear some of the old catch phrases: "very distinctive *whatever*..." and "wait for it"!2. I take it Eliot does not live with Nate although he called the apartment home & he would need quite the garden?3. 90 minutes sleep?!?!?! He gardens at night? So he's out there...(Boy is there alot of suggestive gardening terminology!)D. Was the Christian Kane bashing early or late in the shooting? Can't believe he wasn't concussed. Ah.. stocking cap pushing the box. Open elevator...no stocking cap. Now that's magic!V. Nothing is better than Kane & Hodge (Hodge & Kane). I was going to compare them to Martin & Lewis, but there's no straight man (& there's a term that's out-dated).6. Congrats on the addition to the summer run, but not being in the business I don't see the advantage. We still get the same total episodes (but it sounds like, you the cast & crew are ready for a rest).7. Please don't break Nathan!

I like how Parker is getting to pick up more job time, more than just crawling through vents. The relationships are "gelling" more within the team. Best line "You guys have never worked a real job." and best flash back yet - Parker "curing" her fear of the dark.Rock on guys!

Great episode! One of my favorites of the season. I think that Hardison's supreme confidence in how awesome he is has become my favorite part of the show. Sophie's foreshadowing about Nate has me worried about the summer finale. I have a feeling it's going to be a big one. I hope that Mark Sheppard has something to do with it, whatever happens. He plays the bastard role worryingly well.

I was wondering if we're ever going to meet other people from the characters' pasts. I enjoyed what we've seen of Nate and Eliot's lives, but now I would love to get more of a backstory or insight into Sophie and Hardison especially. I'd love to see it with Parker too, but I like the bits and pieces we get in flashbacks now - burying herself alive, seriously?

Enjoyed the Doctor Strange refs. Of course, Parker's stage outfit was really just a pair of fishnet stockings from a Zatanna homage, as well.

Speaking of Parker, her and Hardison "misdirecting" the real magician, Chronos? With all the "baby" and "I love you" and the "snoodles"? Dude, that wasn't just a fanfic grenade, it was a friggin' warhead.

While I liked the tone of the ep and a lot of the individual scenes (and the Frank Brunner and Clea refs), 'fraid I had four problems with the actual plot.

1) As mentioned, patents are filed with the US Patent Office and are publicly available. Heck, go to www.google.com/patents to search and read them. Trade secrets, on the other hand, are like the formula for Coca-Cola; never patented since you don't want it public and want to keep it to yourself after the point at which a patent would expire.

2) For an outfit that's sharp enough to snag Eliot's pizza guy disguise and Parker's surveillance, they were sure pretty incompetent in letting Dr. Jameson get out of the building in the teaser, both not keeping an eye on her in the server room and letting her get out just by taking off the lab coat. At the very least, I'd expect them to have been able to control the elevator she was in.

3) And the big one. You've got Eliot and Hardison in the server room. Erik with an evil k shows up alone...and their response is to hide, run, and have to access the servers from another floor/room. Um, given they only need a short time and Erik's alone, why can't Eliot just take out and restrain Erik until Hardison gets the files? This stands out particularly since the team then, well, take out and restrain the CEO for an extended period.

4) At the end, the CEO certainly seems willing to listen and believe Jameson very quickly and completely; I don't think they had any time to show him any evidence, which was deleted anyway. And he slams down Erik immediately. So, what was stopping the easy approach of getting Jameson in contact with the CEO to start with?

So, while a lot of fun scenes, the episode's plot really seemed to me to have a lot of holes in it.

Really great episode tonight everyone. I can't think of a question right now....oh wait I just thought of one:

Okay, we learned in The Beantown Bailout Job that Hardison purchased Nate's building so does that mean everyone lives in the building? Or does the team have secondary places of residence in town cause I'd like to see these vegetables Eliot speaks of.

I'm sorry, I absolutely love this series and haven't missed one episode yet, but tonight's was by far the least entertaining episode of the series. Just an extremely weak ending and very little laughs. Hopefully it was just one show...

I love this show, I cannot lie. I knew we'd have a bunch of great character moments as soon as Parker kept poking her "brother."

Somehow the con just left me confused, though. Where was Parker intending to go when she jumped off the elevator, since everything they wanted to access was above them? Files are not erased when they're deleted. They can still be recovered and Hardison knows enough computer forensics to get them, just as a crime lab would.

I understood the part about blackmailing the bad guy at the end to get him to recall the bad food rather than have the secrets released, which would cost the company more. Except when the CEO came out to fire him, it seemed to make the whole blackmail scheme unnecessary, since the guy no longer had a reason to recall the food and the CEO would recall it without the blackmail. So I didn't understand that sequence at all.

I realise this was written before Larsen called Neil Gaiman a dick, but it's still nice confirmation.

As (At the end, the CEO certainly seems willing to listen and believe Jameson very quickly and completely; I don't think they had any time to show him any evidence, which was deleted anyway. And he slams down Erik immediately. So, what was stopping the easy approach of getting Jameson in contact with the CEO to start with?)

Besides the patent issue, and the already mentioned "can't rappel from a non-fixed point" issue, I had another problem with the rappeling scene: Where did the inertia go? Why was Parker able to land so lightly at the bottom, with less of a physical jolt than Hardison had when he fell maybe 1/20th the distance?

The show wants to be smart, or at least be considered smart, and wants to appeal to a smart audience, you can't let elementary factual errors build up like that.

I mean, they could lock the machines down from allowing usb drives..why was there a terminal in the server room for anyone to use, as opposed to the technicians bringing in a laptop when needed...

Or they don't monitor for extraneous transmissions...or have alerts go off when weird security events happen...like a failed scan on a high security door, then a sucsessful scan, that's not then followed up by the second challenge for 10 minutes..or have a camera on that door to see who's having issues. Or exit

I mean, story reasons excuse much, but with the stated level of security.....

They countered hacked Hardisan,to the point they cut the power...wouldn't they thus know where they are?

Caught an article mentioning that you did some filming in Vancouver for this ep. Was there a particular reason that brought you up there, something that Portland couldn't provide? I remember someone mentioning that before you landed in Portland for this season, y'all had been considering Vancouver...

Other than a tactic for making the heads of the certain rabid shippers' heads implode, I really thought the Nate/Sophie/their client thing was built up and so focused on because said client was drinking two or three glasses of hard liquor every time we saw her, and that there might have been a tiny pass at what Nate had gone through to really show how he's changed since last season.

I just figured that Sophie was trying to get Nate closer to her just so he could have a serious talk with her about how "drinking yourself out your problems isn't the answer". It would have been a great crowning moment for me to have seen Nate to come full circle and try and suggest to someone else with a drinking problem could have other methods of coping with a company that screwed you over.

Was it because he really isn't as "recovered" as we assume he is (as suggested by Sophie at the end), or was something like that shucked for time?

1. Is the color orange turning into the Michael's yogurt in-joke? First we get Sophie's orange jewelry and handbag, then Parker's orange tee-shirt, and then I think I caught a peek at orange shoes on Sophie this week. Orange is for more than soda this season, it appears.

2. Parker went up to help hack the computer with Parker and Hardison, but then rappelled back down before Nate called her back down. Did we have an editing error, or did I have a Scooby-Doo moment?

3. Was Nate's introduction as the magician a goof on the ringmaster in Torchwood's episode "Out of the Rain" or am I reading too much into these things?

WHAT Dr. Strangelove references? I'm still working on Blackadder from last week, and no one will put me out of my misery.

Great news about the added episodes. Next stop, Season Three methinks!

Hands down one of the funniest episodes this season, especially with the banter flying back and forth between characters. Too many great lines to list. The impression that I got was a team that is really clicking, that knows each other well. Even Eliot seemed to be really enjoying himself.

Of course then we got that hint at the end, the "what if something goes wrong" speech by Sophie, and you've got to wonder what's coming...

First off - Great episode again. Very funny and everyone was really on top of their game.

No question this time around, just a comment - I think it's really great that we're starting to see Eliot with ice packs or bags of ice when the scene following a fight is supposed to happen immediately. Really lends that touch of reality to a show. Also shows that while Eliot may kick some serious ass, he's not invulnerable.

Being an Erik with a K it was nice to see the more neglected spelling get it's day in the sun, but I resent the fact that you've portrayed us as all being completely evil! At my worst, I'd say I'm no more than 50% evil and average somewhere around 30-35% most days. This is how stereotypes start :(

Another excellent episode, and on the heels of the announcement of the extra episodes this summer! Still want to see TNT say to you, DD and the gang, "Can you whip up a couple of episodes for the winter season to replace those we used in the summer?"

My questions are: The subject of "The Top Hat Job" is highly conceivable as a real life happening. Has there been a situation yet that the subject for an episode was either not used by you and the writers or turned down by The Powers That Be because it is too real?

Second, Hardison (Aldis) can get quite technical on his explanations of how he is using his devices. Is this like "MacGyver" where a key element of his electronic knowledge is left out so it can't be duplicated by...oh, I don't know...a viewer?

Got to give you kudos for writing one of the best shows on television today AND putting up with our demands on your time as well, John! Keep it up and let's seal the deal for Season Three!

Hey, sorry this has to be anonymous, but I don't have an account on anything this site . . . connects to?

Anyway, questions. Am I correct in my assumption that, aside from the Leverage team, Eliot mostly works as a mercenary for various governments? Also, are we going to learn about any of the team members' political views in the future? Parker probably doesn't care, but I think the rest of the team could have some interesting takes on things. I wouldn't be surprised if Eliot belonged to CPUSA, actually. And I get a Ron Paul-supporter vibe from Hardison.

Did you all set out to make Eliot The Most Desirable Man in the World, or did that just happen by accident?

Last thing: Are we going to get to see a con where things totally go to hell and everyone has to completely switch jobs? With all the cross-training going on, I think they could feasibly pull it off. And it'd be wildly entertaining.

I almost feel the need to apologize for our requests for additional episodes in the face of your exhaustion, but then again, y'all did bring it on yourselves.

When does the network typically decide on show renewals? Because they can't leave their cast and crew in limbo for too long before losing them to other projects, I would think. Unless everyone is taking the next three months off to sleep.

This ep was too fun! The interplay between the "kids" was hilarious (Parker poking Eliot reminded me of my 12-year-old, who insists on poking her older sister's various sports injuries), and I loved Sophie trying to fix Nate up with the client (who seems to have a tippling problem of her own).

Amidst the levity, I also appreciated the hints that everything is still not well in Nate-land. He hasn't conquered his addiction so much as simply traded another (the job, control) for it. Sophie's concern at the end was touching, and a nice hint that these two may do much better as friends than as lovers.

I also liked seeing that while Eliot plays wonderfully with the other two kids (seriously, he and Hardison together are gold!), he can also be one of the "grown-ups," as we saw in the kitchen scene with Sophie. Great character development.

Now, my question: For season 3 (and we all know there's gonna be a season 3, right? RIGHT?!), can the team steal a rodeo? Pleeeeeze? Nate back in his cowboy persona, Sophie as the rodeo queen, Parker having to interact with livestock, Hardison completely out of his element, and Eliot riding a bull (or maybe fighting it). In chaps.

Yeah, I'm sorry, it basically boils down to Eliot in chaps. I'm so ashamed …

(ot: verification word, "palinhok." Man, so many ways to go with that …)

Great episode. Very funny but also very tense. Sure, there were flaws, but i'm not going to nitpick since they didn't disrupt my enjoyment in the slightest. The series is really hitting it's stride.

And Eliot only sleeps 90 minutes a day? No wonder he's so grumpy!

I loved Parker being asked what was wrong with her again! I love that she's learning new things, but i love her quirkiness more.

A friend will bury you alive at your request, but only a true friend will dig you back up again.

So, my question, because really, you'd think there'd be a point to all this rambling. Who do we have to threaten to get all the episodes now, without a break?

On a totally separate note, I seem to have been bitten by the vidding bug (though they do all seem to be of the weird variety) and i thought i'd make you a Leverage video to the Dr Who theme as a thank you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVwECuzQDRw Please don't sue me for copyright infringement, my epileptic Lhasa Apso will be most put out if i cant afford her gravy bones any more!

@AntiSocialButterfly - I've grown my own food before, that doesn't mean you don't buy in anything else. Even these anti-capitalism groups barter with other people for things they cant produce on their own.

I was reading through your answers to previous questions, and saw that Eliot apparently killed the abusive dad in "The Order 23 Job."

It's pretty obvious Eliot has no problem killing people, but I can't remember ever actually seeing him do it. The fighting always seems to be 'knock out/disable and move on' (of course, I think I've heard that there's no measurable difference between the force of a head blow that just knocks someone out and the force that kills someone, so there could be people dying left and right).

Anyway, my point was; Has Eliot killed anyone on-screen during the show? And how many off-screen/implied kills (only while he's working with Leverage, it's pretty clear he's racked up a lot on his own) has he performed?

@Anonymous: in the homecoming job, when they were reintroducing the team, eliot was in berlin i think, and the guy pulled a gun on him. a phone rang, and eliot distracted the guy, grabbed the gun, crushed his windpipe, and answered the call as the guy died.

@dee That guy was dead? Oh. The guy in the airplane probably was too, since when Eliot knocks people out they tend to stay knocked out. I didn't get the vibe that Eliot killed the abusive dad, either, FWIW.

I was also hoping for John here to address the seeming continuity error, given how much the writers focus on "eating together" as a family activity for the team. At least that is one of the things I took away from from the Season 1 commentary. Though honestly you can always chalk the whole comment up to nitpicking and tell me to bugger off. That's definitely a viable option.

One cute little moment that I noticed. When Parker was going on about Eric with a C vs. Erik with a K, Eliot was standing behind the sofa staring at her like she was a total loon, then he just slightly shook his head. If you blinked, you missed it, but it's just one of the little things that make this show great.

Loved the Ep. Saw the plot holes, didn't care. Parker being buried alive was worth the price of admission.My big question is actually non-show related.As an old-school (Pre-Leverage.) fan of the blog, I've really missed political stuff. I know you've been cutting back on it because of the show but will you be getting back to it end of season. Because with all the stuff that's been going down, I can't imagine you not having a few things that you'dlike to get off your chest. (Hell, Alan Keyes hooking up with the birthers would be enough for you and Tyrone doing Crazifation Factor 2.0.)

(I'm sorry, I absolutely love this series and haven't missed one episode yet, but tonight's was by far the least entertaining episode of the series. Just an extremely weak ending and very little laughs. Hopefully it was just one show...)

To Quote Hardison "Seriously" now me... You must have something seriously wrong with you funny bone to say that there was nothing entertaining or funny about this ep. I was laughing so hard several times that I got a stitch in my side! LMAO!

One more thing (ok, not just one) did I hear/read somewhere that Apollo is guest starring in an episode this season? That would be too cool! And speaking of guest stars... I would love to have you figure out a way to get Father Paul in another ep. DB "Toe-pick" Sweeney and Mr. Hutton had a great chemistry. They seemed like brothers.

I swear I'm not one of those viewers who doesn't usually understand the con, but I definitely got confused at least a couple of times in this one. Like why did Parker have to go up with Hardison & Eliot in the elevator, if all she was going to do is then rappel back down to join Nate? And I was also confused by the CEO bursting out at the end, did he know about the salmonella? Did he think EriK had stolen the "patents" (aka trade secrets ;) )?

But whatever, I've already watched the episode more than once because I just love these characters, their dynamic with one another, and how hilarious they get when acting out cons. Thanks for this amazing series!

Alright, so a friend of mine was wondering, how Hardison could've looked at the scene through the mark's mobile phone. The angle is all wrong and even if the phone had a camera attached to its side (which phone has that anyway?) it wouldn't have been able. I'm gonna quote her on that:"What we saw on the screen came from an even weirder angle. We even saw the guy's hands typing. from a little further behind. That angle would have worked if it had been the camera phone of someone else standing next to the guy typing."So, was that plain screw-up or did we miss something?

Oh and so you know that I can do something else besides complaining and calling you guys out: I LOVED the interaction between the team members this time. Especially the bits between Eliot, Hardison and Parker!

This is the...I believe 3rd episode to feature a bad guy straight out of my real life...it's creepy and I want you to stop.

No. Kidding. Keep doing that because I like to imagine someone doing this in my real life.

Maple Leaf Foods and the Listeria outbreak anyone??

Anyway. I do actually have two questions this week:

1) does anyone actually want to do Eliot's job? Poor Christian kicking ass and taking many for the team...

2) If Leverage gets a 3rd season (crossing everything I've got that you do) do you think it would film in Portland again or would you maybe consider Vancouver, BC?? It's really nice here...looks a lot like Portland actually...

3) I lied...3 questions...is this show EVER going to air in Canada? I have been forced to resort to downloading episodes and that's just no way to enjoy my television! I have a 52" flat screen for a reason! a 17" laptop screen just ain't the same!

@switch842 said...I think it's really great that we're starting to see Eliot with ice packs or bags of ice...

The ice bags are a nice reference back to the Beantown job, where the team invades Nate's apartment and Eliot tells Nate he's out of ice (he had an icebag in that one too). I'm guessing Eliot keeps Nate's icemaker working overtime!

@SarahFromCanada. Windows DVD Maker + 4.7GB CD's = a playable DVD. You can fit 3 episodes per disk. Or, you could see if your TV could double as a data projector and plag your computer ino the screen (only really works if you have a laptop, obviously).

@Anon. There is a sleeping method where by instead of 8 hours a night, you grab 20 minute power naps every 4 hours, getting 2 to 3 hours sleep in total. Aparently you feel like a zombie for a week, then your body adjusts.

I really liked this one. The plot got a little twisty for me, but I watch more for the characters anyway so I loved all of the funny bits. Glad to hear we get to see an extra couple of episodes this summer. Waiting sucks.

My favourite part was the way Eliot kept looking over his shoulder while he and Hardison were running around the building. Not that he's scared of the ex-CIA security guys (I would never imply such a thing!) but it was interesting to see him so....cautious. Which makes me wonder - is the CIA involved in the whole Eliot's Monkey thing?

In ep 2x05 The three days of the hunter job, Eliot and Hardison play with Parker about what is real and what is fake. Loch ness etc. She asks about area 51 and Eliot says NOT, but 52 is real. Looks to Hardison who agrees.

Coincidentally, I am watching Stargate SG-1 and I am on season 1. In episode 1x20, The General tells Jack that they are getting audited b/c the senate wants to know about the $$ spent on area 52 (Which is the Stargate program)

Now.. is that just a strange happenstance, or are you or one of the writers extra geeky and had to slide a SG-1 reference in just for fun.

If I had not been watching SG-1 for the first time, I doubt I would have made the connection.

I happened to catch an old episode of "Las Vegas" featuring one Christian Kane. During this episode Christian's character goes out dancing....so any chance you could bribe him into showcasing Eliot's dancing talents?

Better still, I caught a 1984 episode of Hill Street Blues on ION yesterday, featuring a "blink and you'll miss him" performance by one Dean Devlin, age 22, as a Diablo being busted for stealing a TV set.

On the other hand, the early cuts to Nate the awkward magician were bad enough to make me think the audience was going to start booing, and made me want to tune out. It's about time Nate started to show some kind of talent. I can't remember a situation this season where I thought Nate was particularly suspending disbelief. Where's the magic?

The bit where they were slamming the box with the CEO in it around the elevator, I believe.

I don't really see how Eliot could pull off growing his own food since he travels so much, and never seems to live in one place long enough to really establish a garden. I could see him joining a farming coop or CSA, though.

I really hope Hardison is a virgin. He's not socially inept, but he can get uncomfortable in social situations . . . he's basically normal, personality-wise. If Parker were still a virgin, it'd be rather predictable and stereotypical. But with Hardison, it's more interesting.

When did it start becoming a sign of freakishness in the media for a young adult (Hardison's, what, early 20s, right?) to be a virgin? It's not the most common thing anymore, but it's not exactly as rare as people make it out to be, either.

btw, I am not a prude. I just think the "no sex" = "social retard" shorthand is kinda dumb.

...so, don't get me wrong, Leverage is still better than about 99% of the stuff out there. Closer, Burn Notice, Eureka, Leverage -- that's pretty much the extent of my TV habits at this point. Now, maybe it's just me, but it seems like the episodes this season just don't have the same...punch. The dialogue isn't as snappy, and the funny moments aren't as funny as the first season, and while the progress in the characters is great (yay no idiot ball!), they just don't seem to be gelling as well as they did in the first season.

Now, this could totally be me. Or it could be on purpose, to lend a bit of an oomph to the resolution of the season. Or it could be that, in fact, you guys were a bit more rushed than you should have been between seasons.

So I guess my question is, is the listlessness in the characters' dialogue and the con-of-the-week on purpose, a dead flop, so that when we hit the turn we really see things click for the river? (to suddenly stretch a Texas HoldEm metaphor to breaking...)

Nate's plans remain as good as ever, more or less, but yeah, his "characters" have suffered. Seems to me that when he's sober, he's not as good at being someone else. Is that deliberate, or just how things are breaking down so far?

Nate certainly does seem to be hamming it up a bit heavy handed as of late... He also hasn't seemed to be interested in Sophie, even with the boyfriend out of the picture... too focused on the work, perhaps? And is someone going to point out this is the kind of thing that got him in trouble when he was working insurance? (He's always seemed a little too job focused and not good at having fun...)

Good episode, though, even though I felt like we didn't get as much character interaction as we're used to...

I am big on Willing Suspension of Disbelief, but the mistakes and confusions in this one kept hauling me out of the story. (I mean, getting patents wrong in a story that is completely based on how companies handle intellectual property? Yeep.) That makes me feel bad, because mostly you deserve worship and chocolate for making a show with so much competence porn.

This con seemed like an ideal candidate for providing an alternate revenue stream a la The Nigerian Job. Did you suppose Hardison might have shorted the company's stock in advance of them pulling the food from shelves?

I know you guys have different ways of building your stories. Sometimes starting with a specific crime or a specific con, etc. How much of this episode was designed around being able to use the index card with "Steal a magic show!" written on it?

Sophie was complaining about not getting an on-stage role in the con - how does the team decide who plays what when it's not specifically related to one or another of their skill sets? Is it random? Case-by-case? Or does it pretty much depend on what you're planning on doing in the storyline of the episode, and, as such, is entirely based on writers' decisions rather than characters' decisions?

Finally, how much fear and trembling should I be in over the phrase "the Armageddon that is 207"?

(There has been much anxiety and metaphorical wringing of hands/gnawing of fingernails here - I LIKE the Fun Train of happy team-y goodness!)

First the Dollhouse needed the chair to strip souls and make backups. Then Alpha demonstrated he could do a remote wipe via cell phone. Then someone was able to perform remote imprinting via audio. Stretch. Stretch. I guess TV writing is by the seat-of-your-pants, making it up as you go along.

Gordon: I mistook "antidisestablishmentarianism" gag for a "Blackadder" joke (in "Blackadder III" Edmund goes off to France and tells George he'll be back before George can say "antidisestablishmentarianism" and we cut bak to George's attempts--which include "anti-distinctly-minty") because I had no idea that in fact "antidisestablishmentarianism" at 28 letters it's the longest word in the English language. So I'm guessing it was just synchronicity, rather than an in-joke. So that was me failing. Sorry for your prolonged misery!

Also, I think folks meant Marvel Comics Doctor Strange, not Dr Strangelove. "Clea" (Parker's alias) was Strange's wife. I am not a Marvel girl, and everything I know about Doctor Strange comes from the truly spectacularly bad MOW from the late 1970s co-starring Anne-Marie Martin from Sledge Hammer! as Clea.

(Go ahead. Mock me for my esotetic television knowledge. I can take it.)

In other news, I enjoyed "Top Hat" MUCHLY as it was FULL OF CRACKY CRACK, and was very impressed with Tim Hutton as stage magician rattling off patter and sleight of hand tricks (were those Apollo's hands?).

To the surprise of no-one, Hardison and Parker at Chronos' magic show was my fave bit. What can I say? I'm easy.

What was the deal with Sophie trying to make Nate go on a date with the client? Was she playing a con on him so he'd admit he has feelings for her? Or if that's not it then it was very OOC for Sophie IMO. Didn't care for it after the lovely scenes we got between them in the previous episode. Seemed out of place.

I loved the comedy flashback's triumphant return. Are we going to see more of those later this year? I Always loved those quick flashes to Elliot's mysterious past and this one for Parker was genius. I really hope we get to see some from Sophie and Hardison too.

Despite the "season" designation, fans will actually have received 22 episodes of Leverage in a one-year period and you will have filmed 28, more or less, so I am sure you all are ready for a break. TNT has said it will announce renewal news in September. If Leverage is renewed for another 15 episode split season, when would you normally begin writing Season 3? Filming Season 3?

@ Tara - Antidisestablishmentarianism isn't actually the longest word in the English language. It's just, for some reason, the 'go-to' word for movies and TV whenever they need a long, unwieldy word. I think it's almost a joke in and of itself at this point. Lots of shows use it at some point.

I just had a personal Leverage marathon where I re-watched the entire first season in the last two days, and it left me with a few general questions and comments.

1. THIS SHOW IS AMAZING. There are so many jokes coming so fast at some points, that I've often been hearing a line of dialogue for the first time because I laughed over it originally.

2. Nate's sobriety seems intrinsically linked to the amount of gel in his hair. It's an interesting quirk.

3. I thought I noticed Sophie checking Eliot out several times (almost whenever they had a conversation). Is she attracted to him, trying to make him interested in her (Sophie mentions that she likes to control her personal relationships, and it's easier to control a man who has a thing for you), or just enjoying the view?

5. Is Hardison ever going to be in a position where he runs the con the way Nate or Sophie do? He seems to have some latent leadership abilities. Every time he has to play a character for a con, it's almost always a self-confident, ambitious, take-charge fellow. He's also likable and relates well to others.

6. Oh, and what does it say about Eliot's personality that he seems to be the only one who ever plays submissive, defeated characters during cons? His character in The Tap-Out Job, particularly. It was awesome and deep and interesting that Eliot could pretend to be that kind of person. It also dinged my kink sensor just the smallest bit, and a little more when he let the other fighter beat him up at the end.

However, what was Sophie thinking trying to push Nate into a potential relationship with, at the very least, a heavy drinker? She convincingly faked being a head doc. She's worried about him heading for self destruction at the end of the ep, but thinks he will be all unicorns and rainbows with a gal who may have the mutant ability to regenerate her liver?

I love this show, completely and hopelessly. You guys do a brilliant job. Thank you for putting together a show that's so consistently smart and thoroughly entertaining; I wish you many years of continued success.

Now, here comes the silly fangrrl part: Aside from the "patent" thing... you also got the FDA thing wrong. Not something most people would know, so it's rather insignificant. Unfortunately, I work with both patents and the FDA..... so, um. Yeah. But hey! If you ever have questions about either, I'd be happy to answer them for ya. ;)

I didn't get a chance to read everyone else's comments so for all I know I'm the only one who thought that when Nate walked in the door dressed as the Magician, my first thought was the guy in A Clockwork Orange.